


A Garden of Roses

by anavoli



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 02:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6312115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anavoli/pseuds/anavoli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every day, Jaune Arc makes the long trek up the hill from his house and across the busy streets to visit the love of his life.</p>
<p>And sometimes, he stops by the house at the corner, checks to make sure no one’s around, and snatches a red rose from the bush.</p>
<p>But then the owner of the rose bush catches him and demands that he take her to see his girlfriend, and he doesn't know how to tell her they're headed towards the cemetery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Garden of Roses

Every day, Jaune Arc makes the long trek up the hill from his house and across the busy streets - careful to watch for cars of course - to visit the love of his life.

And sometimes, he stops by the house at the corner, checks to make sure no one’s around, and snatches a red rose from the bush.

It reminds him of her hair.

There’s something so satisfying about seeing the sun glint in her red hair, like sun filtering through autumn leaves, bringing back all the good feelings of fall - the soft crackle of leaves and sweater weather - without the looming threat of winter.

“Stop right there.”

Jaune freezes, hand inching away from the rose bush as he slowly turns around.

His apprehender is a teenage girl, probably about his age, with silver eyes and a fluffy red bathrobe. Bunny slippers peek out from under rosebud pajamas, and her expression is not one of hostility, but Jaune cannot help but feel intimidated.

After all, he  _ is _ stealing from her garden.

“Well, who is it?” the girl asks.

Jaune is taken aback. “I, uh, don’t know what you mean.”

“Your girlfriend. She must be really nice,” she muses. “Pretty, kind, strong. She better be, or I won’t forgive you for stealing flowers from me. These things are hard to grow, you know.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighs. Almost as a peacemaker, he adds, “Your roses are really nice.”

She beams. “Thanks! My mom taught me how. I’m Ruby, by the way. And I want to meet your girlfriend.”

“I’m Jaune…. You...don’t want to change first?”

“Nah, it’s close right? I’ll just say hi and come right back home. Come on, grab a rose and let’s go!”

Without a word, Jaune does as he is told. Together, they walk the familiar path, chatting about the weather.

He doesn’t have the heart to tell her they’re going to a cemetery. She would figure it out...right?

“Wait.” He stops suddenly, deciding maybe he should break the news to her. Slowly. “I’m not sure this is the right path.”

Unconvinced, Ruby raises an eyebrow. “Yeah right. I see you walk down this path every day. You know the way.”

“Yeah, but this time it looks different.” Jaune’s head is spinning and he’s grasping at straws, still unsure of how to say the weighty two words of:  _ she’s dead _ .

Ruby sighs. “What’s the matter, Jaune?”

For some reason, avoiding the truth is easier than telling it. “Well, you see, the thing about Pyrrha is she doesn’t really like visitors. Well, she does, she’s really friendly, but if you show up without any warning, I don’t think she’ll like it.”

“Hmm,” Ruby nods in understanding. “Then when we get there, I’ll wait outside while you go in and ask if she’s okay with having visitors. If not, I’ll leave. Now come on, she’ll be expecting you.”

“But-”

“Jaune, you could either be the world’s most considerate boyfriend - which I don’t doubt - or you’re just trying to worm yourself out of this situation. I’m coming.”

“No, really, it’s not-”

“Unless you want to replant my rose bush. Which is a lot of work, let me tell you.”

He sighs in defeat. “Fine. Let’s go.”

The rest of the walk is mostly silent. Jaune is too nervous to talk and Ruby picks up on it. She doesn’t think much of the quiet; though she’s only known him for a short time, she’s realized that he’s not really the confident type.

“Well,” Jaune exhales. “We’re here.”

Confused, Ruby looks around at the rows of headstones and flowers. “Is this some kind of joke?”

But as she looks back at Jaune, eyes averted and hands fiddling with the rose stem, she understands.

“Oh.”

“I...didn’t know how to tell you,” Jaune sighs. 

Ruby is lost for words. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t realize…”

In front of them, a wilted rose lies in front of a gravestone, engraved with the words: “Pyrrha Nikos. Beloved friend, sister, daughter.”

“How long has it been?” Ruby whispers.

Jaune moves forward to replace the wilted rose with a fresh one. “Almost a year. She went in for a surgery and everything went wrong. The doctors couldn’t save her.”

“I’m sorry,” Ruby breathes. 

“It’s fine.” Jaune sighs. “I...I’ve made my peace with it.”

“So why roses?” Ruby suddenly asks.

“Roses were her favorite,” Jaune shrugs. “They reminded her that nothing is permanent, not even beauty.”

“Wow...that’s deep.”

A silence falls between them, and as the wind picks up it takes petals from the wilted rose in Jaune’s hand. 

“You know...maybe we should plant our own rose bush here,” Ruby says suddenly, almost as if it were an afterthought. 

Jaune looks at her, surprised. “Is that even legal?”

Ruby shrugs. “We can always figure it out.”

“Yeah.” Jaune nods. “I think she’ll like that.”

So they find out that they  _ can _ plant a rose bush next to Pyrrha’s grave, as long as it is small and well tended, so that it doesn’t get in the way of the other plots. Ruby introduces Jaune to her sister Yang and her friends, Blake and Weiss, and they take turns tending the mound of dirt that will someday produce beautiful roses. Eventually Jaune’s own friends, Nora and Ren pitch in as well. 

It takes time; Jaune learns more about botany than he ever did in high school biology. And it doesn’t work out at first, but no one is really surprised. After all, it had taken Summer Rose years to bring the flowers in front of Ruby’s house to live. 

But soon enough, because of Ruby’s expertise and their tireless efforts, there is a beautiful little rose bush, just for Pyrrha. The buds are small, but healthy, and they’ll have flowers by spring. 

“It’s lovely,” Weiss smiles, surveying the plot proudly. 

“It really is,” Nora nods in agreement. 

“Pyrrha will love it,” Ren adds.

Ruby grins and nudges Jaune, who smiles, breathing in the scent of roses. 

“I hope so.”


End file.
